Beneath the Clockwork Mountain

it goes down under ground

Toasted underfoot

third log

5

JAN/17

Pffn awaits the group at The Tin Fiddle with their reward in hand. He invites the group to visit him at the Krackengibb House once he has had time to study the components. Klaus greets the adventurers after the Wizard leaves inquiring about their quest.

After being regaled and a few rounds drank Klaus happily announces the preliminaries for the upcoming Under Country drinking tournies. He happily answers questions to those uninitiated in the sport.

A few days go by seemingly business as usual for the group. Stores received summer wares from Whitefield and the general vibe of the city has calmed some since the goblin raid. Gnomish theremin marachi mixes with the din of the inn. Recruitment posters for the drinking league cover the walls of homes and businesses zig zagging through the massive city state. And it seems like the group are cultivating a modicum of celebrity in the neighborhood around The Tin Fiddle.

After four days since the group retrieved the esoteric components for Pffn the inn is thrown into chaos. Klaus has gone missing! Where the proprietor sometimes attends to business around town his sickly condition does not let him linger far. Two days is enough to cause an uproar among the senior staff and most loyal patrons.

The group believes goblins did it and want to plunge into the tunnels. The murky network twisting through the heart of the mountain. Having a starting point helps the skilled trackers in the group and its not long before the old trail runs into something fresher.( per 1/16/17)

They rush through the tunnels and stumble onto a base camp for the Goblin pests. They engage in a lengthy battle through out the tunnels unknowingly sparring a hidden town of misfits called Rut-town. Going so far as to intercede mid raid against the poorly armed hamlet. Regrettably they realize Klaus was never here and the leader of the Goblin band escaped in the final fray.

Goblin hate runs deep and the group tracks them to the rope bridge they used to filter in to conduct their raids. The tracks indicate many more than they anticipated and rally back for more numbers. They return to Rivvihuas to find it besieged by crime and mysterious horror looming in the shadows. They resolve to return to the search for Klaus.

Pffn directs them to the Gray Hand in the warehouses. There its the Gnome who drinks her way to help. Impressively bested the local champ in a shady drinking game called Drowish Wetnurse they persuade the crooks into sharing further information.

They are greeted by a trapped door that lodges an arrow into Quinn's face. While they render healing they are approached by a mysterious halfling and her strange pet Raven. Gilley Pad and Pip offer to join the group and after some mild debate they accept this mysterious stranger's help. Its not long before they navigate through mess in the warehouse to the hidden door into the temple.

The bare rough hewn stone hallways usher the group into a small sleeping cell. The group, despite the occasional effort is not subtle or quiet so the first line of cultist defense is waiting for them. Though outnumbered the cultists are fierce opponents until Gilley enchants them with magic. They find out that this is a temple to a cult who wish to seed discord, destroy the Great Wheel to tear open the planes and give this world to unnamed horrors. They kill him as soon as temper flare and move on to save Klaus..or recover his body.

Again the lack of subtly leaves their enemies waiting prepared. With Klaus holding Death's hand on the altar they waste no time in joining battle. They almost lose to the cult's strange powers but manage to win the day, save Klaus's life and retrieve their wounded. Hard fought victory is theirs as they return to the Tin Fiddle to recuperate and contemplate all that has occured.